Boston Red Sox - PlayerWatch

August 06, 2012|Reuters

3B Danny Valencia was acquired from Minnesota for OF Jeremias Pineda, a 21-year-old playing for Boston's Gulf Coast League rookie team. Valencia was hitting .198 with 17 RBI in 34 major league games this season, and the Red Sox assigned him to Class AAA Pawtucket.

LF Carl Crawford turned 31 Sunday in style, leaving his imprint on every corner of the victory over the Twins. He went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, stole a base, and added a leaping catch in left for good measure. "Had a damn near perfect game," manager Bobby Valentine said. "When he's like that, it can make a big difference." Over his last nine games, Crawford is hitting .333 with three homers and nine RBI.

DH David Ortiz is having a hard time watching the Red Sox plummet in the standings while he sits on the sideline with a strained right Achilles. "This is a little difficult for me right now to watch the game on TV and not be able to be out there trying to help the ballclub," said Ortiz, who has been sidelined since July 16. "But at the same time, I'm planning to keep on playing baseball, and I don't want to do anything stupid that can put my career in jeopardy. So, I've got to do what they tell me to do." The Red Sox have averaged nearly a full run less per game without Ortiz in the lineup, from just under five runs a game before he got hurt to just over four without him.

RHP Vicente Padilla has hit a bump in the road. In a stretch of 19 appearances from May 27 through July 24, Padilla allowed just two runs, both coming against the Yankees on July 6. Otherwise he had 18 scoreless outings. He has allowed runs in three of his last four outings, however, including three Sunday on a walk and two homers in the ninth inning. He failed to record an out and necessitated the use of closer Alfredo Aceves to nail down the save, even though Valentine desperately wanted to stay away from the closer Sunday.

RHP Clay Buchholz has emerged as the team's unquestioned ace. He received a tough-luck no-decision in his last start on Saturday despite limiting the Twins to a single unearned run in seven innings. In his last 11 starts, his ERA stands at 2.21, and he has finally given the Red Sox a starter who can be relied on every fifth day. He has been even better in four starts since returning from a bout with esophagitis that landed him in the hospital. Despite posting a 1.20 ERA in those starts, he has only one victory to show for his efforts. "It's not about me getting the win. It's about the team win," Buchholz said. "Things happen where one-run leads, they just don't hold up all the time. This game is humbling because things can happen like that."